Member Monday: Drumbeat of Hope by Alicia McCauley

Welcome back to Member Monday! Today we feature a poem by Alicia McCauley. She crafted the first draft at the January Writers Forum meeting with Susan Wooldridge. Alicia is a local teacher and has spent the last two summers teaching Creative Writing in Northern Uganda. She will return to her home in Uganda in July. To learn more about her upcoming trip, click here. Alicia will be showing some of her photos from Uganda (along with snippets of her stories) at U Top It on Churn Creek from February 22nd-26th. U Top It is donating a portion of sales on the 22nd toward her work in Uganda. Alicia invites you to come and see the people and the land that have captured her heart.

Drumbeat of Hope

by Alicia McCauley

Africa constellates my dreams.
At night in the clarity between sleeping and waking
I feel the throwing absence
Of being away.

Bombs chant lightning across the sky
Of my peopled plain
The plain where Musee
Gray with wisdom
Picked the groundnuts
That dried in the sun
In circles like prayer mandalas
On the red earth.

I think of the groundnuts
Peanut cousins
Skinned in pink
The color of the kisses Africa leaves on my nose and cheeks.

War was once a horrific abstraction
Far from my Viewpoint house
Where campaigns of summer ants summitted my naked feet
In the grass that I once thought was green.

There is no green like my home in Bungatira.
I am a person of the forest.

At night I listen for the voice
That quells the trembles and the white fear of war
Fear that dampens the feathers in my pillow.

In the dark folds I strain for peace.
I count beads of praise.
And in the shattered sanctuary of night I feel the ache
Of my promise to return.

The voice in the night drowns out thundering bomb ghosts
And ushers me back to sleep.
Africa kisses my eyelids
And into my heart she presses
Her drumbeat of hope.

A Note from the Webmaster: If you’re a Writers Forum member in good standing and would like to be featured on Member Monday, please send your submission to writersforumwebmaster@gmail.com. Submissions should be 75-750 words, appropriate for all ages and error free. Please include a short bio, a headshot and any related links. The author retains all rights and gives permission to Writers Forum to publish their submission on the website and/or in the newsletter. Thank you!

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Monthly Meeting Information

JUNE READ-AROUND

Join us for our semi-annual read-around, where members are offered the opportunity to read five minutes from their original works on a first-come, first-read basis. Please join us with samples of your writing and of your favorite fare for the refreshment table.

Visitors are welcome and will be offered a chance to read their work if time permits. It usually does, so drop in and sign up for a turn at our open mic.

Writers Forum meets from 10:30am – 12:30pm monthly on the second Saturday (except for July and August) at All Saints Episcopal Church, located at 2150 Benton Drive, Redding, CA. Doors open at 10am. The public is welcome to get acquainted with two free visits before joining. Annual membership dues are $25. For more information email writersforumprogramchair@gmail.com

Spoken Word Night

Spoken Word night is the third Friday at 7:30. People can just come at 7:30 or a few minutes early and let Nadia, the hostess, know they wish to read. There is no advance sign up and no door fee, although we do gratefully accept donations. We have complimentary wine and coffee available for which we also accept donations. If you have further questions, best would be to give us your number and good times to call, and Nadia can call you back.
Our web page for the open mics is at:
http://www.travelingbohemians.org/open_mics.html
Bohemian Art Loft
3304B Bechelli Lane Redding